Hayastan All Armenian Fund

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund was founded by Presidential Decree in 1992. It is a unique institution whose mission is to unite Armenians in Armenia and overseas to overcome the country’s difficulties and to help establish sustainable development in Armenia and Artsakh. In addition to those problems associated with the break-up of the Soviet Union, the government had to find solutions to the aftermath of the 1988 Spitak earthquake, an economic blockade and the rehabilitation of areas that had suffered from the Artsakh conflict.

Under the Fund’s charter, the Armenian president is the President of its Board of Trustees. The Board comprises the Catholicos of All-Armenians, the Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia, the Catholicos Patriarch of the Armenian Catholic Church, the President of Nagorno Karabakh, the prime ministers of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh, the chairman of the RA Constitutional Court and the Central Bank, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the heads of the three main Armenian political parties and of major benevolent institutions such as the AGBU, ARF, the Armenian Congress of America and other outstanding benefactors and public figures from Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora.

The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund implements its projects through a global network of 22 affiliates, which operate in the United States (Los Angeles and New York), Canada (Toronto and Montreal), France, Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Holland, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, Brazil, Lebanon, Argentina (Buenos Aires and Cordoba), Greece, Cyprus, Syria, Uruguay, Romania and Russia. The mentioned last seven affiliates have been opened in 2009-2011 years.

The local affiliates closely cooperate with representatives of church, non-governmental and charity organizations operating in their communities, as well as with Diaspora donors and dignitaries. The Fund’s Yerevan based Executive Board and affiliates are reportable to the Board of Trustees.

The funds’ financial resources are obtained through a variety of fundraising activities including annual telethons, phoneathons, radiothons, benefit bike rides, gala dinners, concerts, and exhibitions, donations made at post offices in Armenia or through SMS, as well as contributions to donor-defined projects and wills.

Since 1996, every year the annual Telethon, broadcast from Los Angeles, reports on global fundraising totals for the year, familiarizes supporters with newly completed and ongoing projects, and rallies the worldwide Armenian community around an overarching development objective. Amounts raised at the Telethon are directed to the implementation of an comprehensive strategic project approved b ythe Board of Trustees.

The European Phoneathon, spearheaded by the fund’s French affiliate, reaches Armenian supporters across France, Germany, Switzerland, Holland and Greece, securing donations for a given year’s strategic objective. Phoneathons are also conducted in Argentina and Uruguay.
The fund’s accomplishments to date comprise a broad range of initiatives that are of vital importance to our homeland. They include the construction or renovation of roads, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, and water and gas networks, as well as assistance to socially vulnerable groups such as families of disabled or deceased veterans of Artsakh’s war of liberation, students from disadvantaged families. Today the generous support of the worldwide Armenian community continues to help improve the lives of thousands in Armenia and Artsakh by securing housing, water, heating, and other core necessities. The fund is also a major supporter of science and the visual arts, promoting the work of outstanding artists, intellectuals, and scientists as well as gifted youths. The Fund’s first major initiative was the Winter Humanitarian Project, which alleviated pressing social needs in 1992-95. At the same time the Fund initiated a house-building program following the Spitak 1988 earthquake: providing accommodation to those left without shelter in Gyumri, Vanadzor, Stepanavan and Spitak. Since 1995, the Fund has been providing a continuing financial assistance to needy students and families of deceased and invalided soldiers of the Artsakh conflict.

In 1995-99, the Fund was entrusted with implementing major infrastructure development projects, as a result of which it constructed the major Goris-Stepanakert highway. In 2001, it financed the construction of the North-South Highway. This established a road network between cities and villages in Nagorno Karabakh and greatly contributed to economic growth in the country. With the completion of these strategically important roads, the Fund successfully implemented two major projects of regional significance.

In parallel with road building, the Fund has embarked on community development projects including the construction and renovation of schools, hospitals, water treatment and supply systems, power transmission lines and cultural canters.

In 2005, the Board of Trustees approved the Artsakh Rebirth territorial development project, which opened a new page in the Fund’s activities. The Board unanimously decided to use funds raised in the 2005 and 2006 telethons to revitalize and develop the Nagorno Karabakh regions of Martakert and Hadrut, which had particularly suffered during the Artsakh conflict. In 2006, several projects were initiated in Martakert including support to agriculture, water supply, healthcare, and school building. A similar project is being carried out in Hadrut and Martuni regions.

During the years of its activity, Hayastan Fund has gained widespread respect and recognition for successfully meeting the needs and aspirations of the time. Always a great support to Armenia, the Fund is committed to its mission of successfully and steadily developing the young country.